Connected: An Internet Encyclopedia
RFC 959 - 2.2. TERMINOLOGY

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### 2.2. TERMINOLOGY

ASCII

  The ASCII character set is as defined in the ARPA-Internet Protocol Handbook. In FTP, ASCII characters are defined to be the lower half of an eight-bit code set (i.e., the most significant bit is zero).

access controls

  Access controls define users' access privileges to the use of a system, and to the files in that system. Access controls are necessary to prevent unauthorized or accidental use of files. It is the prerogative of a server-FTP process to invoke access controls.

byte size

  There are two byte sizes of interest in FTP: the logical byte size of the file, and the transfer byte size used for the transmission of the data. The transfer byte size is always 8 bits. The transfer byte size is not necessarily the byte size in which data is to be stored in a system, nor the logical byte size for interpretation of the structure of the data.

control connection

  The communication path between the USER-PI and SERVER-PI for the exchange of commands and replies. This connection follows the Telnet Protocol.

data connection

  A full duplex connection over which data is transferred, in a specified mode and type. The data transferred may be a part of a file, an entire file or a number of files. The path may be between a server-DTP and a user-DTP, or between two server-DTPs.

data port

  The passive data transfer process "listens" on the data port for a connection from the active transfer process in order to open the data connection.

DTP

  The data transfer process establishes and manages the data connection. The DTP can be passive or active.

End-of-Line

  The end-of-line sequence defines the separation of printing lines. The sequence is Carriage Return, followed by Line Feed.

EOF

  The end-of-file condition that defines the end of a file being transferred.

EOR

  The end-of-record condition that defines the end of a record being transferred.

error recovery

  A procedure that allows a user to recover from certain errors such as failure of either host system or transfer process. In FTP, error recovery may involve restarting a file transfer at a given checkpoint.

FTP commands

  A set of commands that comprise the control information flowing from the user-FTP to the server-FTP process.

file

  An ordered set of computer data (including programs), of arbitrary length, uniquely identified by a pathname.

mode

  The mode in which data is to be transferred via the data connection. The mode defines the data format during transfer including EOR and EOF. The transfer modes defined in FTP are described in the Section on Transmission Modes.

NVT

  The Network Virtual Terminal as defined in the Telnet Protocol.

NVFS

  The Network Virtual File System. A concept which defines a standard network file system with standard commands and pathname conventions.

page

  A file may be structured as a set of independent parts called pages. FTP supports the transmission of discontinuous files as independent indexed pages.

pathname

  Pathname is defined to be the character string which must be input to a file system by a user in order to identify a file. Pathname normally contains device and/or directory names, and file name specification. FTP does not yet specify a standard pathname convention. Each user must follow the file naming conventions of the file systems involved in the transfer.

PI

  The protocol interpreter. The user and server sides of the protocol have distinct roles implemented in a user-PI and a server-PI.

record

  A sequential file may be structured as a number of contiguous parts called records. Record structures are supported by FTP but a file need not have record structure.

reply

  A reply is an acknowledgment (positive or negative) sent from server to user via the control connection in response to FTP commands. The general form of a reply is a completion code (including error codes) followed by a text string. The codes are for use by programs and the text is usually intended for human users.

server-DTP

  The data transfer process, in its normal "active" state, establishes the data connection with the "listening" data port. It sets up parameters for transfer and storage, and transfers data on command from its PI. The DTP can be placed in a "passive" state to listen for, rather than initiate a connection on the data port.

server-FTP process

  A process or set of processes which perform the function of file transfer in cooperation with a user-FTP process and, possibly, another server. The functions consist of a protocol interpreter (PI) and a data transfer process (DTP).

server-PI

  The server protocol interpreter "listens" on Port L for a connection from a user-PI and establishes a control communication connection. It receives standard FTP commands from the user-PI, sends replies, and governs the server-DTP.

type

  The data representation type used for data transfer and storage. Type implies certain transformations between the time of data storage and data transfer. The representation types defined in FTP are described in the Section on Establishing Data Connections.

user

  A person or a process on behalf of a person wishing to obtain file transfer service. The human user may interact directly with a server-FTP process, but use of a user-FTP process is preferred since the protocol design is weighted towards automata.

user-DTP

  The data transfer process "listens" on the data port for a connection from a server-FTP process. If two servers are transferring data between them, the user-DTP is inactive.

user-FTP process

  A set of functions including a protocol interpreter, a data transfer process and a user interface which together perform the function of file transfer in cooperation with one or more server-FTP processes. The user interface allows a local language to be used in the command-reply dialogue with the user.

user-PI

  The user protocol interpreter initiates the control connection from its port U to the server-FTP process, initiates FTP commands, and governs the user-DTP if that process is part of the file transfer.

Next: 2.3. THE FTP MODEL

Connected: An Internet Encyclopedia
RFC 959 - 2.2. TERMINOLOGY